Gettysburg, Pennsylvania (CNN) - A crowd of more than 100 waited and waited throughout a hot and humid Memorial Day at one of the Gettysburg battlefield's major monuments hoping Sarah Palin would show up. As evening broke they were still waiting.

The crowd, made up of both tourists and local citizens, had different reasons for showing up - some wanted to urge her to run for president, others just wanted a glimpse.FULL POST

Washington (CNN) - President Barack Obama's performance on national security and international affairs and his image as a strong leader appear to be behind his rising approval rating, according to new national poll conducted as the president was on an overseas visit to four countries.

A CNN/Opinion Research Corporation survey released Monday indicates that Obama's approval rating among Americans stands at 54 percent, with 45 percent saying they disapprove of the job he's doing as president. Obama's approval rating appears to have steadily risen in the past two months, from 48 percent in early April to 52 percent in early May and the current mark of 54 percent.

A middle-aged woman who said she worked in the health care industry approached Palin while she was signing autographs and posing for pictures with tourists at Mount Vernon, the second stop on Palin's closely watched "One Nation" bus tour.FULL POST

(CNN) - In lieu of a public event on Memorial Day, Mitt Romney sent a twit pic to his followers of his family, featuring the former Massachusetts governor in a polo shirt with slightly disheveled hair.

The new image is a far cry from the stuffed shirt of the 2008 election, when Romney appeared at event after event with perfectly coiffed hair, a perfectly pressed suit and a perfectly tied tie, an image with which late night comedians and political observers had a field day.FULL POST

ARLINGTON, Virginia (CNN) - President Barack Obama led the nation's Memorial Day observances Monday, laying a wreath at Arlington National Cemetery's Tomb of the Unknowns and declaring that Americans owe "a debt to our fallen heroes that we can never fully repay."

"The blessings we enjoy as Americans came at a dear cost," Obama told a crowd at the cemetery's Memorial Amphitheater. "For those of you who mourn the loss of a loved one today, my heart goes out to you."